deepseek-harness-shortcut

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A DeepSeek Harness (DSH) plugin that creates a desktop shortcut to start or open your local DSH web UI with one click (Windows).

The shortcut icon: assets/icon.jpg · assets/icon.ico

Double-clicking the shortcut:

• if the DSH service is already running → opens the browser directly;
• if it is not running → starts it (npx --yes @deepseek-ai/dsh web by default), waits until port 3080 answers, then opens the browser.

Features

• ✅ One command: /desktop-shortcut
• ✅ Smart launcher script (start-vs-open, wait-for-ready, up to 30s)
• ✅ Customizable: shortcut name, URL, port, icon, working directory, start command
• ✅ Zero runtime dependencies (Node ≥ 18 built-ins only)
• ✅ Ships as a DSH bundle: installing the package auto-activates it in the profile

Install

From GitHub

dsh plugin --profile web add github:Ho11ow8/deepseek-harness-shortcut

From a local checkout

dsh plugin --profile web add file:D:\DeepseekHarness\deepseek-harness-shortcut

Then restart dsh web. In the chat, run:

/desktop-shortcut

A start-dsh.bat launcher is written to your workspace and a DeepSeek Harness.lnk shortcut appears on your desktop.

Bundle activation is automatic: dsh plugin appends any dependency that declares dsh.bundle to the profile's dsh.profile.bundles layer stack. (See dsh --help / dsh plugin --help.)

What it generates

The plugin does not ship a pre-built launcher — running /desktop-shortcut generates the files on your machine:

Generated file	Location	Purpose
start-dsh.bat	your workspace (or launcherDir)	Smart launcher: checks port 3080 → opens the browser if the service is already running, otherwise starts it and waits until ready
DeepSeek Harness.lnk	your desktop	Shortcut that runs start-dsh.bat when double-clicked

Icon resolution (first match wins):

1. iconPath from your config, if set;
2. the first .ico/.png found in launcherDir;
3. the plugin's bundled assets/icon.ico (shipped with the package) — so every user gets a nice icon even without their own.

Re-run /desktop-shortcut any time to refresh the shortcut (e.g. after changing the config or the icon).

Slow startup? Switch to a China npm mirror

The launcher starts the service with npx --yes @deepseek-ai/dsh web. On every launch, npx contacts the npm registry to resolve the @deepseek-ai/dsh version. When your access to registry.npmjs.org is slow or unstable (common in China), this step can take several seconds — or much longer when the connection is reset and npm retries with backoff.

Point npm at a China-based mirror (npmmirror.com — Alibaba's sync of the official registry):

npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

This writes registry=https://registry.npmmirror.com to your user-level .npmrc (C:\Users\<you>\.npmrc on Windows), so all npm/npx commands you run use the mirror. Verify with npm config get registry.

• Package contents are identical — npmmirror mirrors the official registry; your local npm cache stays valid.
• New releases can lag the official registry by a few minutes to hours.
• Revert with: npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/.

The mirror only speeds up the npx network step before DSH boots. Once the service is running, the browser loads everything from 127.0.0.1:3080, which has nothing to do with the registry.

Configuration

Override any key through a later patch row in the profile's cordis.patch.yml:

- id: desktop-shortcut
  config:
    shortcutName: My Harness
    url: 'http://127.0.0.1:8080'
    port: 8080
    iconPath: 'C:\icons\my.ico'
    launcherDir: 'D:\launchers'
    workdir: 'D:\DeepseekHarness'
    command: 'npx --yes @deepseek-ai/dsh web'
    waitSeconds: 45

Key	Default	Meaning
shortcutName	DeepSeek Harness	Shortcut file name (no extension)
url	http://127.0.0.1:3080	URL the launcher opens
port	3080	Port probed to decide start-vs-open
iconPath	""	.ico/.exe/.dll icon for the shortcut (falls back to first .ico/.png in launcherDir)
launcherDir	workspace	Directory for the generated start-dsh.bat
workdir	launcher dir	Working directory used by the launcher
command	npx --yes @deepseek-ai/dsh web	Command that starts the service
waitSeconds	30	Max seconds to wait for the service

Changing the icon

Two ways to use your own icon:

Option A — drop the icon into your workspace (easiest)

1. Copy your icon (.ico or .png) into the workspace (the directory where you run dsh web, e.g. D:\DeepseekHarness);
2. Re-run the command:

/desktop-shortcut

The plugin picks up the first .ico/.png found in the workspace. If several icons exist, remove the old ones or make sure yours sorts first.

Option B — pin an exact path with iconPath

Set iconPath in the plugin config:

- id: desktop-shortcut
  config:
    iconPath: 'D:\my-icons\my-custom.ico'

Then restart dsh web and re-run /desktop-shortcut.

If the desktop still shows the old icon after changing it, refresh the desktop (press F5) or right-click the desktop → Refresh — Windows caches icons. .ico is recommended for crisp rendering at all sizes.

License

MIT